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In a trade union employees in a syndicate are organized, which locks mostly collective agreements. Dependent on the national regulations the membership can be voluntarily or legally regulated obligating.
The largest trade unions in Germany are united in the German trade union federation (DGB). The united 2001 almost 84% of all union members as roof federation: country wide union the call circuit trade union united by independent industrial trade unions, like the industrial union metal, the industrial union mining industry, chemistry, energy as well as ver.di.
Trade unions can be divided into occupation and professional associations, trade associations and operating federations. In professional associations employees are independent of after occupational groups united (e.g. technicians + carpenters), in which industry they are busy.
Trade unions try to distribute in agency of the interests of their members, as large a part of the Unternehmensgewinne as possible as content and improvement of the conditions of work to the staff. On the other hand the management represents the interests of the enterprise owners and/or shareholders, who want to have paid as large a part of the profits as possible (approximately as dividends), immediately or over investments later, if they paid.
For the meaningful allocation of the Unternehmensgewinne there is no mathematical formula - it is a question of power.
Trade unions are to have naturally the well-being of the enterprise in the eye, which comes approximately without enough money for investments economically into the Hintertreffen. They were never as radical because of this close linkage with the interests of enterprise as the labour parties, which have all the more overall economic interests in the eye. Some appear the trade unions today however as radical, which is not correct however in the historical connection.
Union representatives are involved in the supervisory boards in control of the production management. Critics maintain, trade unions the national economy would harm, because they have the interests of their members in the eye excluding and not the consequences of their demands for the national economy, similarly as by the way many further groups of interests, for example enterprise federations.
Today trade unions it is often accused that they would represent the interests of the employees, not however those of the unemployed persons, and measures, which led allegedly to the creation of new jobs, would prevent.
Since trade unions are limited to special sectors frequently, they fight also then for the receipt of their sector, if this is economically no longer competitive.
Trade unions often point out that their wage demands for a rearrangement the productivity progress and so in particular the purchasing power of the population remains to provide at least. This effect is taken up frequently also for the long period. Despite an increasing globalization trade unions maintained their positions supported on inquire-oriented development models.
Neoclassically economists oriented in particular demand a flexible work time model; Trade unions stand however frequently for other regulations in. Critics accuse trade unions to weaken thereby the domestic location. For the economists of the trade unions - traditionally rather trailers of the Keynesianismus - the crisis on the job market decreases/goes back v.a. to the productivity increases, which are socially unequally distributed and which cannot take up market therefore the increased production potential (being nominal oh question). The trade unions state, the labour costs are not too high, but the wages are too low.
Opponents of this view say that straight for enterprises, which in addition able are, to shift flexibly the location into low wage countries high hourly wages are however deterring. They state that for instance in Eastern Europe in the last years numerous new works of autofarmers developed and into Germany however jobs were lost. In countries with high productivity and lower labour costs than about in Germany, jobs remained Sweden however. Straight ones in the industry are affected by job dismantling enterprises also supplying and thus further places. Actually however the average wage costses increased more in Sweden in the last ten years by the quadruple than in Germany. Also the number in the German motorring industry of the persons employed even rose in Germany.
In globalisiertem context specified keynesianische arguments to demand stabilization were overlaid after the critics allegedly thereby since without work also no demand is possible and because investments can move more unhindered in the global market than humans.
For the purchasing power theory of the wages there are different opinions. While the trade unions critically facing economist means that this theory simplifies conditions too much, appoint yourself the economists of the trade unions frequently straight to this theory, while its opponents to the contrary profit theory appoint yourself, which however likewise simplifies conditions too much.
In the last years the pressure increased on the trade unions. It, a high education succeeded to states in central and Eastern Europe as well as in Asia to develop productivity and infrastructure level. In states such as China the pressure takes place on trade unions via Kriminalisierung of the founders of independent trade unions. Further a contradiction between legal regulations and the a complaining barness of rights exist as characteristic for missing right nationalness.
The consequence of the competition from areas with smaller right nationalness and the suppression of trade unions was partially the drift of jobs from Western Europe. Despite high unemployment and (disputed) the thesis, Germany is competitive internationally any longer, does not hold the trade unions to wage demands, which adjust at least the inflation, in addition, are partly higher than economic growth, if in an industry particularly high productivity increases are to be registered.
Despite the increasing conflict potential Germany in the international comparison has the few strike days. Strikes are connected for trade unions with high costs and for employers apart from short term losses of production on a long-term basis a location disadvantage. Like that it is in the sense of both parties to avoid strikes. Most trade unions consider strategies of wage lowering, in order to compete against machines or hold around labor intensive productions, on a long-term basis missed, even if they agree in individual cases corresponding agreements. An economiceconomics basis for such wage lowerings for this does not give it however.
Trade unions aim with their activities at the creation of new mass demand, which is to energize the Binnenkonjunktur. The uncoupling of Germany of the attractive world economic situation is attributed partially to the weak being nominal oh question. Some experts of economic politics criticize however that thereby the double demand effect does not find consideration of the trade unions. Demand develops, even if one facilitates it for enterprises, for investments to transact. (However the effect of the investment the one anticipated future consumption is alike, because is invested only, where also paragraph is thus expected later, consumption. Thus the thesis is correct, but only at short notice. Because the consumption of the future is long-term by the credits for the investments in the past already bound. Thus one can on a long-term basis withdraw to the view of the consumption and entitled-proves the effect of the double demand to ignore.) however to have the last years shown that for example large-scale enterprise strengthens no longer inland, but on the capital markets or in fusions with foreign enterprises to invest. Also export records of the German economy (contradict the thesis of international competitive ability lacking) can support the being nominal oh question not sufficiently. More importantly however the demand is inland with the double demand effect. This is naturally high, if domestic enterprises well are. Because not only private households, but also enterprises domestic in particular consume inland, approximately over supplies. High wages or high deliveries however worked against this consumption and shifted it abroad. To this thesis however with the argument one contradicts, which high wages would only make possible to local resident coworkers these to spend also in the region their compiled money so that in the case of wage increases if necessary a Substition of payments results to regional suppliers to payments to regional coworkers. Similarly look it with state deliveries, which prefers also from the respective state to the payment of its expenditures in its national territory was used.
Like other social large organizations the trade unions suffer the 1990er in particular for years at member decrease. The reasons for this are various. Frequently mentioned is:
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